The present invention relates to an electrical docking connector and in particular to an assembly of matable, multi-row docking connectors in which the connectors are mated to each other along a direction substantially parallel to their mating faces.
Connectors are continually designed toward compact size, superior signal integrity, and low profile. A typical docking connector can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,294 issued to Marsh et al. on Jun. 15, 1993. The Marsh et al. patent discloses a receptacle connector and a mating plug connector. The receptacle connector comprises an insulating housing having a plurality of electrical terminals received therein and a front shield. The mating plug connector also comprises a housing receiving a plurality of electrical terminals and an outer shielding shell. The shell of the plug connector is brought to matingly engage with the shield of the receptacle connector along a direction perpendicular to mating faces of the plug and receptacle connectors. Threaded mounting holes are provided on the plug and receptacle connectors. In this design, since both the shell and the shield have a substantial width, a given widthwise dimension of the connectors will be needed.
In order to reduce a widthwise dimension of the connectors, the present invention provides plug and receptacle connectors which are mated together along a direction substantially parallel to their mating faces.